I suppose Middleton is shutting down PA, Carter Hall, Walnut, etc. I think that blends like, SWR, mixture 79, etc. will also soon pass on into history. Some say there will be "replacement" blends offered using the recipes .. by some company or another. I do doubt they will reproduce this blend at any point, but perhaps there are those who do enjoy smoking Mixture No. 79 by Sutliff; I however would not be among them. I have tempered my original review of this, in consideration for those who may find something redeeming in this tobacco, though I would strain to imagine what that would be. However, during my travels I took note of a people who enjoyed the rind of a fruit, dipped in salt that was so bitter it was nearly impossible to keep on the tongue. There are people who bury fish heads in mud for a month and then dig it up and consume the putrid flesh. There are others who eat boiled eggs wherein the embryo has developed into a partially formed duck. So it stands to reason that there would be some within a population of respectable size, who might enjoy this tobacco. I have never eaten the flesh of rotted fish, but I have tasted "balut", the aforementioned egg of the duck; it did not taste like chicken, nor did it remind me in any way of peking duck, and I remember I required a significant amount of the local beer in order to distract my palate in hopes of avoiding an unpleasant reaction. All this is to say that, while I cannot decide which experience I would choose should it ever be necessary to revisit one of the undesirable experiences; suffice to say that I would prefer not to. again, experience either of the two.

If you find yourself in, what I would consider, the unique position of finding some enjoyable aspect of this tobacco, you might want to consider acquiring a substantial amount of this blend, as I would not expect it to survive any decision process which might reflect a demand driven market.

When I pull the pouch out of the box, there is a strong smell of anise. When I open the pouch there is an even stronger smell of perfume. When I pack the pipe, the perfume smell meets me even before the first light. When you finally get around to setting this perfume counter on fire, the headache can really begin. I love Burley and strong tobaccos, but I don't like strong cologne.

I have come across a snus tobacco that has this same taste and the snus manufacturer claims a kind of tobacco called Gotland. Maybe that's the secret to Mixture No. 79!

Anyway, the makers of this stuff ought to be ashamed. And, consider this, a tub of this perfume-counter nightmare costs twice as much as Prince Albert. I have a faithful brier dedicated to the Prince, while I had to sit and apologize to the cob that was forced to endure this stuff!!

Normally I'm a sucker for standing up for the underdog. Which in this case represents Mixture No.79. But this junkyard dog needs to be impounded. It wasn't so much the taste that was awful, but the smell. It was utterly vile. Exactly like the perfume mentioned by many below. It isn't fitting for such a smell to come from one of my pipes. I'm grateful that I used a cheap cob to try it.

i got this blend for free at a cruddy little discount smoke shop in my area, and after reading the awful reviews here, i had to try it. I have to say that i did not hate my first bowl of the stuff, and found it unremarkable. a few days later and i decided to load up new cob that i have reserved for the testing of awful blends. I couldn't even finish it, in fact i took two puffs and tossed the bowl and pouch right into the trash. just awful, like smoking a senior center or your grandma's perfume cabinet. not worth the 2 bucks they charge. Stay away unless you make a hobby of trying bad blends like i do.

It smokes dry, mild, is not bitey and is inexpensive; that said, there is something about the flavor and room note that screams old woman. It taste like the way they case this blend is by storing it at the bottom of your grandmothers purse along with black licorice for several years. It has that faintly floral and talcum powder odor that seems to be omnipresent around elderly woman and it tastes like it smells. A quarter way through the bowl I found my self becoming extremely nauseous. I got 3/4 the bowl and then stopped because I realized I was needless torturing myself, as if in penance for even daring to sully my pipe with it.

You know that stuff you spray on fishing lures and plastic worms to attract fish? Well just pour some of it on a cotton ball and stick it in your pipe and smoke it. You will have the same thing as smoking this stuff.

Being interested in old name blends, plus all the bad reviews I have read about this particular blend, sparked my interest in giving Mixture No.79 a try.

I purchased a fresh 2 oz. sample from 4noggins and received it quickly through the mail. The tobacco was dark brown in color with just a few flecks of light brown mixed in. I could smell licorice and other components that I could not discern. All in all, the sample smelled very good to me.

I loaded up a MM 5th Ave that had been broken in, and used the 3 step method after I let the tobacco dry for about 30 minutes, it was a little to moist at the time.

The first light gave me a soapy floral flavor that was not overpowering, but was quite unusual for me. The final light gave me the same soapy floral flavor, and I continued to smoke.

The soapy floral flavor that I taste is not overpowering and I find quite enjoyable, the flavor is not harsh or bitter, but smooth and light. I find it to almost disappear after the 1st quarter bowl is smoked, other flavors that become pronounced, is the burley which has a slight tangy taste to it, with a slight sweetness throughout the smoke, the finish is almost like a root beer/ Dr.Pepper taste. As for myself, I enjoyed this blend and did not find it horrible whatsoever.

This tobacco does not conform into any particular category. It is unlike any other. The flavoring must be tried to be understood. I think it's absolutely excellent. The taste and aroma are almost similar to Dr. Pepper. Again, not completely, but if you try it you'll see what I mean. Also, I'm a guy that hates goopy, chemically aromatics, so believe me when I say this isn't one of those. There's one disclaimer, however: This tobacco is ONLY enjoyed when smoked slowly, with labored puffs. There is a period of unavoidable tongue bite in the very beginning, when the pipe is first getting fully lit. After the 1-3 charring lights, let it cool down by smoking slowly. If this pace is kept for the rest of the smoke, you can then give Mixture 79 a fair analysis. Hopefully, more people will be willing to get past the initial minor tongue bite to find one of the most enjoyable tobaccos ever produced.

Sutliff Mixture No. 79 is one weird tobacco. It garners scads of very negative reviews. Yet it has sold well for decades while myriads of "good" pipe tobaccos have disappeared.

Mixture No. 79 is a burley blend, all burley but with some variance in color from tan to brown to dark brown. The darker colors predominate. The cut is slightly chunky. This rates about medium in terms of ease of lighting, but less than that of most OTC brands. It seldom requires a relight. Tongue bite is minimal. as is the case with most burley or dominant burley blends.

The nicotine level is medium.

The pouch aroma and taste are unique. Sutliff's description mentions vanilla, but the predominate note is licorice (or its taste twin anise). Many pipe smokers do not realize this, but the overwhelming majority of pipe tobaccos have licorice (or anise). This is a powerful sweetening agent, but in most blends it is used in an amount small enough to sweeten but not give an obvious taste of its unique flavor. The amount used in Mixture No. 79 is by no means moderate.

The room note is one of a kind. As with most aromatics, the majority of people find it pleasant. But there is a minority who find the aroma of No. 79 to be perfumey in a cheap toilet water sort of way, and not acceptable.

I find Mixture No. 79 to be a fine change of pace smoke, but not one that I enjoy smoking frequently. I prefer considerable variety in my smokes, so by change of pace I do not mean every three or four pipe fulls but every three or four days. A pouch will last me a couple of months.

One of the frequent complaints against this tobacco is very valid. It does ghost a pipe, as much so as any mixture I have smoked. This is no big deal if the several smokes it takes to eliminate the ghost is another aromatic. But with other types of pipe tobacco the ghosting is quite disconcerting.

What one needs to know up front is that this blend tastes like lightly caramelized dryer sheets.

Obviously, no normal person would find that delightful at first, but get through a couple ounces and you'll find yourself warming to the idea. I like it a little more each time I smoke it, and I began by not liking it much at all. I imagine the rabidly negative reviews are for the most part indicative of "first smokes," while the much rarer positive ones suggest someone who stuck with it a while. Since there are thousands of tobaccos that don't require a similar "breaking-in" period, I can completely understand those who question why Mixture No. 79 would be worth that kind of effort. For that, I have no answer. I can only say the flavor has grown on me, and has become something I reach for frequently.

* As an experiment, I tried blowing some of my second-hand Mixture No. 79 smoke on damp laundry before drying, and found it had no discernible effect on wrinkles or static-cling. Hmm.

Update: 12/20/08. I recently ordered some misc smoking items which included a new Kaywoodie Super Grain, and two zipper pouches. I also ordered a large tin of Mixture No. 79. This tobacco has changed. I think this stuff is really great now. In the past, I hated this tobacco like mostly everyone else. Tobacco in a large tin is always better than in the foil pouch. Mixture 79 is no exception. Vanilla and anise predominate the burley, but the tobacco flavor comes through nicely. I will not smoke this everyday, but it is a welcome change of pace. I do advise, however, that a person delegate one or more pipes for exclusive smoking to this mixture.

I remember trying this stuff when I was in the service 35 years ago. I think I sent in a coupon for a free package. Anyhow, I thought it was the worst tobacco I ever smoked, and gave the pouch away. It indeed tasted like soap.

Receiving this as part of the free sampler, I thought I read reviews on this site before I gave or threw the package away. I could not believe that Hugh Hefner smoked this stuff. Some people actually liked this stuff. I had to try it again.

I packed this in a thick walled corncob and lit up. It had the same soapy flavor with anise or whatever, but, I have to say, it mellowed to a relatively flavorful smoke, with all the negative points in the background. I was really shocked. The other day I played golf and grabbed The Mixture 79 pouch to take with me, thinking I'd smoke less if I didn't enjoy it. Outside, this tobacco shined.

Not a great tobacco, but a once in a while change of pace. Hef could not be all wrong.

why one star, well please let me explain! the tobacco is mainly comprised of burly tobacco and knowing thatvthe burly act as sponge for flavors added by casing the had apparently over flowed this blend with what ever they did. dont get me wrong i love heavily cased aromatics and i even smoke some super value from time to time but this one just couldnt make it without burning my tounge so bad that i took an oath never to try it again (i took that oath after 3 seperate purchases of this blend). the vanilla can barely be tasted and the cheap foil covering seems to impart an odd aluminiummy flavor to the tobacco of that make any sense. dosent burn well with definte left overa in the heel (aka dottles). and the worst part is that it is the highest priced drug store blend. to each his own but this blend will never touch my pipes again unless its the last tobacco on our beloved planet.

This Mixture is actually pretty underrated, it's a love/hate tobacco.It' s a very unusual aromatic and the anise/wintergreen casing smells tastey but I recently purchased this stuff again seeing it on a counter at the drugstore.I don't know if it's the level of moisture in the pouch or what but it was completely unsmokeable.It was so soaked in casing 2 weeks of drying time didn't work.it's a darn shame too because this used to be a nice aromatic.

I first tried this tobacco about 37 years ago and couldn't get along with it then. A couple of years back I got a big free sample box from Altadis and it contained a pouch of Mixture 79. With much trepidation I filled a cob that could easily be discarded if the tobacco was a dog.

It was worse than I expected. A perfumey taste that had a slight resemblance to licorice but reminded me more of an old lady who has put on half a bottle of cheap perfume. I didn't make it halfway through the pipe and it and the pouch went in the trash. Normally I score a tobacco in three categories but I will simplify this one by saying it gets a big fat zero. Too bad I can't give it no stars.

Strange, I smoked a pipe on and off for 8-9 years and never tried this blend out. Started puffing again in earnest about a year ago and have been reveling in the worlds choices of baccys. After reading reviews, here, about M79, had to try it to see what all the fuss was about.

Biggest mistake; ordered 8 oz. of this stuff. Should have paid more careful attention to the reviews, but what the heck, live and learn. This is the most terrible thing that I have ever put in my mouth. The taste is so complex, it is hard to describe, but I think it is like a strong bar of musk perfume flavored soap with some cherries and bitters thrown in. And after a few puffs, it is like someone washed my mouth out with it. Tried hard to make it at least acceptable by blending it with everything from plain burley, plain Virginia, to latakia, and even Our Best Blend. All it did was ruin each mixture. I will give it credit for easy lighting, staying lit and no bite. Can't speak for the bottom of the bowl because I just can't take it down that far.

I know that I am sounding crude, but if anyone wants the 7+ ounces left, you can have it for the price of mailing.

As much as I cherish the memory of my childhood matriarchs, I would much rather have a smoke that reminds me of chopping trees with Grandpa than playing checkers with Gran. Immediately upon lighting up this stuff reminded me of my great-grandmother's house--as others have noted, it tastes like an old lady's perfume smells. Soap taste is definitely present. I imagine it's a bit like smoking pressed rose leaves. About midway through the pipe a pleasant pine flavor tried to come to the fore, but failed.

I can certainly understand why this is considered a classic. This stuff was old when great-gran was young, and, as another reviewer noted, it has the same kind of taste of some old-style candies. The burley is top notch. Older taste buds than mine might love the casing. And it does burn very nicely. This aromatic is certainly not goopy, by my definition, and the room note was fine.

It was a decent but strange smoke my first bowl, but I grew to dislike the lingering soapiness long after my pipe was out. After I discovered how mightily it lingered in my favorite knockabout pipe my dislike turned to bitterness.

If you're of the Great Generation, perhaps you should give it a try--but in a pipe you were thinking of getting rid of anyway. I can't recommend it for anyone else. I gave it to my wife to use as potpourri.

I received this in the Altadis sampler. The packaging gives no clue to the evil which lurks inside. When I tried it my 1st act after dumping it from my pipe was to warn the other two recipients of the sampler that they smoked this at their own risk. This is like smoking the fabric softener sheets that one throws in the dyer. It has both the terrible cheap perfume odor & the smell of burning synthetic material that those sheets are made of. The plastic smell/taste is really overwhelming. There?s mention in these reviews of this once being the favorite of Hugh Hefner & that Hugh no longer smokes the pipe. I?ve seen the cable program starring his three current girlfriends & I think that he?s replaced his plastic tobacco habit with plastically enhanced girls (good for him). I just hope the girls don?t smell like the toilet water used in Mixture 79.

I?m sorry for my criticism but I?ve never been so disgusted by a pipe tobacco.

Unlike their Dutch Master Cherry Canvendish which is at least Four Stars. Mixture '79 should be no stars. I don't understand why this is still on the shelves. It is simply rotten. Poor Taste and weak aroma packs well and stays lit. The flavor is Licorice close to Feild and Stream but worse. I guess if you don't know about this blend you will once you try it. Everyone trys a box of this stuff sooner or later. Better later then sooner. PUUUUUUUUU!

So, when I took up the pipe this is one of the first mixtures I bought. Fortunately it was not the first mixture I smoked. Had it been, I'm sure I would not have continued pipe smoking.

It has a very pleasant aroma in the pouch. It lights easily and stays lit, which is a plus I suppose. There is however, something harsh (or maybe acrid) about the flavor, with a certain flatness that some might call dull. It certainly didn't live up to the expectations I had when I first opened the pouch.

I tried it in several pipes, but nothing really changed. I found it to be a dull, bland mixture. I did manage to salvage the purchase price - by keeping the opened pouch in my library for a few weeks where I was able to enjoy the aroma.

Please don't buy this stuff. I think the only reason it sells is that people are curious to see if it's really as bad as others say. It is. If no one buys it maybe they will stop making it. Many, many great tobaccos have been discontinued but #79 has been in production since the 1800s. Yes, that many people CAN be wrong. Now we know what really killed Sinatra and why Hugh Hefner quit smoking his pipe. Mixture #79 is the most vile tobacco available and people actually pay for it. Thankfully, I received mine in a pass-it-forward. I trashed it rather than subject anyone else to the dangers... I would give it less than one star if I had the option because I'm not really sure it IS tobacco.

It would seem that it is to be my lot to take some kind of sick joy in all of these blends that are either passed over or outright hated by so many others. I like Mixture No. 79, you see. Like is the opperative word here. I love Prince Albert, I love Grousemoore; at times, though, and not infrequently, 79 suits me right down to the ground. My severe burley fixation is most likely a governing factor herein. I have always liked the quality and cut of burley employed by H. Sutliff, having, as it does, a softer, seemingly mor herbal note than that of many other drugstore brands.

That infamous casing that is so feared by so many others about, while not in keeping with modern and conventional tastes, is both complex and masterly. It is at once like unto the flavor found in many old style candies and that perfumish, eighteenth century style of blending only found today in those blends of a truly ancient pedigree. I have smoked this in a clay many a time, in fact. I love how I will, throughout the bowlful, get just the first hint of a Captian Black sort of sweetness which will then fast give over to the floral notes that are in such fine blends as Bourbon Street. By golly, what's good enough for Hef is good enough for me. Let's hope that he will soon come back to the fold, whatever blend he should choose.

Granted, this is easily induced to smoke hot and a little wet at times. I would be interested to see how it would perform in a pipe with a filter, Medico, 9mm., or otherwise.

UPDATE: Mixture No. 79 has taught me to question the integrity of Tobacco Reviews itself. The almost comical hatred toward this tobacco is quite clearly bogus most of the time. It is very obvious that many of the people who have reviewed this tobacco have not tried it. Very obvious. They are just bandwagoneers, joining the anti-hype.

I've only been here a while, but already I can spot the pay for play reviewers--free tobacco sample for a review, in other words. Such guys usually have lots and lots and lots of reviews. And here in the reviews for M79 I can spot the guys who are just plain full of it. It's one thing to not like a tobacco, it's quite another to pretend to not like it because that seems like the thing to do.

Reviews (real ones, anyway) are so personal and subjective their actual value is diddly. The value of the reviews of universally loved or hated tobaccos is even less than diddly because a lot of it is just piling on.

The tobaccos to take note of on this site are the polarizing ones, the ones with nearly equal amounts of love and hate. Those are the ones with real interest.

Having smoked a whole pouch of Mixture No. 79, now, I'm upping my review to four stars. I love this stuff and do not want to be out of it.

ORIGINAL: Went garage saling with the wife this morning and dashed into my tobacco shop to grab a pop. They still sell the reasonably sized cans. Lo and behold what do I see--Mixture No. 79. Despite selling the throwback 12 ounce can of pop, it's a modern tobacco shop, meaning it's a cigarette/cigar shop that sells Captain Black and Prince Albert. They also have a selection of horrifying plastic pipes from China.

I was pretty surprised to see Mixture No. 79 there. I've always wanted to try it, just to say I did. For some reason I'm attracted to polarizing tobaccos. Universally loved or panned tobaccos are actually kinda boring if you think about it. Perhaps this is why Samuel Gawith is one of my favorite producers.

Mixture No. 79 is or was the blend of choice for millionaire pornographer and creepy old man, Hugh Hefner. Despite this, I bought a pack...seven bucks! Two and a half bucks more than the Prince it sat next to. In the car, I removed the cellophane and a very strong aroma of anise or licorice filled the air. "We may have just flushed seven bucks down the pooper," I said to the wife.

"At least you didn't get the canister," she said. Always looking on the bright side, that one.

The tobacco itself doesn't have such a strong licorice smell, thank goodness. Kinda fruity or something. Hard to place. Still pretty licorice-y, but not eye-wateringly so like when I first opened it.

Cut is a shag or a chop (or both). Pretty random-looking. Color is mottled, various shades of brown, some blonds, some blacks. Also random-looking. PG is present in the leaf. I can feel it with my fingers, but it doesn't seem to be overdone.

Taste is...wait for it...quite nice. I am enjoying this. No licorice at all translates. YAY! for that. An American attempt at a Lakeland, perhaps? There is a perfumey quality to it I like. Smoke is cool...not cool as in temp, but like a menthol cigarette, yet without the menthol. I am sipping this but I could see how it would bite if I started puffing away at it. I like how the strange licorice-y root beer-y smell of the tobacco itself is not present at all in the smoking. It has a flavor unlike anything I've ever smoked. It's uniqueness is what calls to mind Lakelands, but it is not like a Lakeland (if that makes any sense, haha).

Probably won't repurchase, but I can say the seven bucks wasn't wasted.

I just ordered a tin of this from WV Smoke shop. I haven't had it in years and wanted to take a trip back through time. I loaded up my Kaywoodie Gold burl, gave it a somewhat tight pack, and lit . Yes I remember, first thing that hits you is the perfume aroma and strong anise taste. After 2 minutes though it settles down quite nicely. Tasting anise and Vanilla in intervals. This is an old time formula, as in late 1700s all the way thru to late 1800s style. If you like bond street known now as bourbon st, Condor, Rich Dark Honeydew, and other non Balkan English blends you may like this southern American twist on things. It's an acquired taste so you have to try and smoke more than one bowl.It's actually a good tobacco if you smoke it proper .

...I smoked this tobacco in the early 1960's...along with other OTC tobaccos from Europe as well as stateside... From the flavoring standpoint it was quite different than PA, CH SWR, etc. I rather enjoyed the distinct difference and found it quite good.

While I prefer strong Virginia plug/flake tobaccos, I have been re-acquainting myself with the old OTC's...In the last several weeks I have smoked close to a tub of this and frankly, I like it better today than I did 48 years ago.

I don't get a "vanilla" or "anise" flavoring, though perhaps a soapy flavor to begin with...not too different from some of the lakeland tobaccos which I smoke regularly. There are some mild floral notes weaving in and out of the smoke, and a fairly strong burley taste, like hickory nuts, but other than that, I find it a pleasure to smoke.

While this will not make my top 10 tobaccos, it, along with several other OTC's will make it into my rotation of regular tobaccos. I'm glad I re-acquainted myself with this mixture, and recommend it to anyone seeking a change or simply wishing to experiment a bit.

If you subscribe to the rather negative reviews on this mixture, you really owe it to yourself to try it as unbiased as possible...just my take on things...

My Dad smoked this and I do not see how. Everything the last two reviewers said, double that for me about this blend. This weed has always been a mystery to me as how anyone can like it. But some do and I'm happy for them. If you try this, try it in a pipe you are ready to dedicate to it or smash afterwards. No thanks.

I always wanted to try this. I am not sure why. I hated it the first time, loved it every time after that. Amazing my tastes have changed the way they did. It is strong but for some reason I like this....quite a lot! It is different, but enjoyable to me. I chose somewhat recommended because I think you should try everything. I just find most people don't enjoy smoking it. Give it a try, you never know.

Mixture 79, the old time classic or that infamous blend. I remember my reaction almost a couple decades ago when I first open the pouch. I threw it in the trash. What the hell is this? Licorice, root beer, menthol potpourri? It took some courage to dig it out and actually try smoking a pipe bowl. Back into the trash! But, when boredom sets in courage reasserts itself. Well, this could also mirror a similar experience for someone who had tried english tobacco for the first time. With some persistent dabbling, the insight may occur as to their virtue and why others fancy them. And I have come to fancy Mixture 79.

What I really like about this is the toasty, thoroughly cased round sweetness of the burley base, perfectly done and not a goopy cavendish. That intense pouch aroma and medium flavor seems to be birch or something along the lines of the previously mentioned licorice, similar to V.I.P. and Four Seasons. Along with the more or less cubed burley base, about 20% of some flakes in the american sense of blondish virginia mixed in. This is an intense aromatic with an almost perfumery nature that I see as being an American burley analog to the intense floral quality of some English Kendal tobacco. It can get a little hot in the pipe so, take it a little slower. A true American classic that I'm going to be hooked on for the moment. The king of drugstore tobaccos that can outsmoke many a premium burley blend.

The dreaded Mixture 79! This pouch has been sitting idle for some time and has dried to a very smokable moisture level. The cut is relatively coarse-cut burley and some short, fine cut virginias. Fired up a little reluctantly in a full-bent pipe basket special. Once lit it burned rather well and relatively long for an inexpensive pouched blend. Initial flavor was quite like a nicely scented bar of hand soap. After a bit of cautious puffing most of the soapy taste faded and left a pretty decent-tasting burley. It never became bitter and only required one relight which may be due to lack of attention on my part. This stuff tasted o.k. and smelled quite nice. It was trying to bite my tongue when drawing too hard.

Overall a fairly enjoyable yard tobacco if you go easy on the draw. Also could be worth your while to break the seal when purchased and give about a month or so before lighting up. Not recommended for those who think Lakeland tobaccos are soapy tasting. I would give two and one half stars if aired out a while.

I have a confession. At one time I smoked this stuff, though I don't really know why. I wasn't even sure that I had ever smoked it, but I found an unopened pouch of the stuff in a moving box in my garage that had been there at least five years. So I know I must have smoked it a couple times. Okay, I know I DID. But I didn't inhale, and didn't like it LOL! Now I remember why I smoked it years ago; as a (ahem) mix in to cover the smell of what was really being smoked.

Now, when you come across a five+ year old tobacco in your garage, and vaguely remember having smoked it in the past, curiosity piques. I couldn't for the life of me recall what the stuff had been like, and wasn't even aware that it was on this site so that I could check reviews. So I opened the box, broke the seal on the pouch, and cautiously peered in. A very faint licorice aroma escaped, and I immediately remembered what this stuff was doing in that moving box full of other junk that I just hadn't gotten around to throwing out in five years and two moves.

Okay, so now I really gave it a good whiff. The licorice like aroma had somehow just escaped on opening, and was almost not even there at this point. What I saw looked fairly good; shags of brown tobacco with little sugar crystals formed on them. Hmmm, had this stuff developed a mellowness with age? Had it somehow gotten better?

At this point, I decided to break out a corncob that I was getting ready to toss out anyway, and I loaded it up. If memory served me correctly, this stuff tasted like bits of cardboard drenched in some kind of artificial anise flavoring, a really bad one at that. What can I say, I was in a masochistic mood, so I lit up.

What came forth from that pipe was totally unlike anything, and completely different from what I remembered and have subsequently read here. Was it good? No. But, it wasn't so awful as to have me gagging uncontrollably. At first it even seemed a bit pleasant, sweet, not even any tongue bite at all. Then it hit; that soggy cardboard taste. Geez, this stuff is awful. But, it served a purpose at one time in my life, an ignoble one though it may have been. And for those of you who wonder how this stuff has survived for so long, here's you answer. Those who smoke it don't care about the taste, only that it keeps Mom and Dad from knowing what they're really smoking.

My view is going to be "the same thing only different" compared with fellow reviewers. I didn't mind the "perfumy" room note. (Hef probably got the hippie chicks with this patchouli/incense casing.) Didn't smoke that hot for me either. My complaint is that I never got any tobacco taste. Is there really any in here? Could just be chopped up weeds and flavoring, for all I could tell. No cheers.

Uniquely flavored blend and possible right of passage, a rorschach test for pipers: Look into the smoke and tell us what you taste... For me, what I found was mostly fragmented chipboard cased in a tantalizing melange of toilet cleaner, maybe some old lipton tea, a dose of wint-o-green, maybe some grape soda, and just a light kiss of eau de funeral home.

Think the tobacco that is here was actually destined to be chewing plug first. And it burned me.

But you, oh you, brave piper, you may _love_ this stuff. Who knows what fate holds for you---Mixture 79 may taste like mojitos and sex with supermodels on the concorde to you.

the first thing i have to say is,WOW!,as soon as i opened the pouch i smelled what i swear was perfume and then flowers,i wasn't sure if i should light up,but then i did.gasp, cough,yuck,then i tasted what i swear was soap,i took maybe 2 more puffs and dumped it out.i decided to give it another try a few hours later,why u ask,i have no idea,how i finished it was by the good grace of god or something,u choose.the aroma wasn't all that bad i guess,but i'm hoping i didn't ruin a good pipe! i don't know what to do with the rest cause i'm not going near that stuff,i thought about blending it and trying it in my cobb as suggested.hmm,tough decision here,i know one thing i'll never buy it again.i wish i would have read the reviews on this one.i won't make the same mistake twice.

In general I try to not give terrible reviews of tobaccos, but on trying this blend I was disgusted almost immediately. On opening the packet, I got a waft of old-woman type perfume. Being used to tobaccos tasting different than they smell in the pouch, I stoutly lit up. Terrible...perfumy bitter chemical flavor. After about half of the bowl, I got a hint of burley flavor that slipped out from this burdensome mess.

I couldn't bring myself to load up a second bowl of the stuff, and cannot recommend it to anyone. As a caveat, Mixture 79 will taint your pipe with its flavor especially if you normally smoke mild blends. I used the power of latakia to exorcise this foul reminder.

I hope not to offend those that find this a pleasent smoke. For me...this is just plain nasty. I dislike any of the Lakeland-type tobaccos. "Floral" essence, my butt. Dial soap is more like it. 99 and 44 hundreths percent pure crap-o-la.

I was "gifted" a pouch of this with "only 4 bowls used". I suspect that I was the 5th owner of this pouch. Now, I am trying to think of anyone who I don't like enough to gift a pouch ( minus 5 bowls).

On the serious side... After opening the pouch, the colors of the blend were nicely blended ( probably by cement mixer). from bright yellows, to blacks. The pouch aroma was I will admit subtly enticing. A bit moist, but here in Colorado the low humidity quickly takes care of extra moisture. It packed well, and took to the light quickly.... The initial taste was a shock, pure Dial soap with a oil of wintergreen kicker. Surely somewhere in this smoke is some tobacco... I suffered thru about 15 minutes and headed for the OUTDOOR ash-can. No way did I want this in the den any longer than required. Hopefully I didn't break any hazardous material laws in adding this to the refuse can.

I wearily tried less than a half bowlfull of this stuff in an old Grabow I keep for testing purposes. Let's just say that my brief experience was more than enough for me to realize I had made a mistake in trying this tobacco.

If I wanted the same experience as smoking Mixture 79 but without the lasting aftertaste, I would spritz my mouth with an aerosol air-freshner.

=====UPDATE=====

While I was in either a masochistic frame of mind or my synapses just weren't quite firing as they should I actually tried this blend again. Nothing has changed... it still was an unpleasant experience. I must've experienced the same level of memory supression that allows a pregnant woman to completely forget the pain of her first childbirth and makes the second time around seem like such a good idea.

Mixture #79 is everything you would expect in a cheap drug store tobacco. It tastes like soap and smells like cough syrup. No one in their right mind would smoke this tripe. It makes CrossEyed cricket taste good. That's how bad it is.

This is one of those "old" Time blends that I can do without. While I have been re-trying various drug store blends this summer, this is definitely the one I should have forgotten about. As another reviewer put it, "Nasty". Chopped up blah is my main description of this foul smoke. Just an overall lousy experience.

Nasty! However, (note to Gae) one could strain alcohol through this, mix it with liquid pesticide and use it for bug killer in the garden. I know that sounds harsh but so is this stuff. No way does this work for me except as noted.

Do you still have an old old aunt or grandmother living? Do you remember what her house smells like, no not baking cookies, the other smell, the smell of old cheap perfume. I do not know what type of perfume 80 year old women wear, but it all smells the same, just like this tobacco, terrible. I was warned about this vile weed, but had to go and find out for myself, I thought nothing could be that bad. Believe me this one is! I liked Royal Yacht, I even survived Erinmore, but this evil brew is not fit for human (or any other) consumption. Leave this one be, you'll be glad you did. This stuff tastes as bad or worse than it smells, it will ruin whatever it is smoked in, so if you must try it, buy a cob to smoke it in, then when you have to bury the pipe you won't loose much. Don't just throw it away, somebody might pick it up and decide to never become a pipesmoker because of it. Anyone who likes this concoction is truly a masochist of the rarist kind, and quite frankly scares me. I did not know that tobacco could be turned into so perverse a mixture, it truly is a shame. 0 out of 10 and not fit to smoke

Well, good ol' CaptnDan gave me a gift. This was not a nice gift - rather an experience. He along with some of the other savages at the local pipe shop I frequent convinced me or rather challenged me to try this most foul and hated of blends. Horrible! I packed a pipe, lit and was hit with a naucious, overwhelming taste and aroma! The only thing I can liken this to is when I was a child and my brother sprayed my mothers perfume at me and it landed in my mouth. To top it off I burnt my mouth as well! Captndan gave me the gift or rather experience of sea sickness!!! You foul, evil pirate!!!!

I had to, I simply had to try this. I was well aware of its reputation and true to form most of the reviews and opinions of fellow pipesters I know, along with my own sampling, led me to conclude that this mixture is not for me. The various flavor additives made this a jumbled mess. There was not a hint of true tobacco taste and the aroma was quite off-putting. This was not the easiest blend to keep lit and the smoke it yielded was wispy and weak. I can't recommend this foul beast to any smoker, be they aromatic or natural devotees. JITLTG

Absolutely, terrible. The aromas are very annoying both smoking and smelling. Such a smoking a chemical stuff instinct. Keep away from all pipe smokers! I can smoke only few minutes. In this package; tongue bite included!

Their respective merits not withstanding, if you took the worst elements of a Lakeland blend and combined them with the worst elements of an American "codger" burley blend, you might come up with something a bit better than ole Number 79.

I first smoked this tobacco when I was starting college and pipe smoking both in 1960 at the insistence of my pipe smoking buddies that it was "good". I didn't agree with them and struggled to try and finish the first, and only, pouch I ever bought. I didn't make it and offed the pouch in favor of something else at about the halfway point. The next go around with this strange mixture came recently when I bought a package of seven year old pouches of #79. I lit it up and was astonished that, fifty-four years later, my reaction to it was practically identical to the first go around: I didn't like it at all! First of all, I don't like pipe blends that are infused with a floral aroma and this blend has that quality strongly. Secondly, the flavoring agent(s) that give this blend its characteristic aroma and taste are very strange and somewhat off-putting. People say that this blend is licorice flavored and I remembered it as a licorice or anise flavored tobacco but, this time, I was much more experienced and simply couldn't identify the taste and aroma as such. It seemed more like a complex of ingredients with a vaguely wintergreen flavor. Combined with the floral taste, it was an unpleasant experience. Underneath all of this chemistry I thought I could detect a descent burley-based tobacco but, who knows? I just feel that there is way too much chemistry going on here needlessly. Later I discussed all of this with a long time smoking buddy of mine who, himself, had recently smoked #79. He found it to be identical with his memory of the blend from the old days and set about correcting me on something - the blend is NOT licorice flavored and never was. He thinks I am confusing #79 in my memory with another contemporary blend from the past: Middleton 5, which both he and I clearly remember as actually licorice/anise flavored. Once he said this it all flooded back from my memory that, yes, I was confusing the two blends. I wonder how many of us who have smoked both blends are doing the same?

Maybe, considering many of the reviews here, I was being a masochist for trying this. (Or retrying, as I tried this nearly 40 years ago and didn't like it). As far as taste went, I just got some sweet vanilla over the fairly bland burley; on the other hand, my tongue is scorched.

I've heard the this was the only tobacco that Hugh Hefner smoked. If that is true it must have been some strange self-imposed punishment to compensate for looking at pictures of naked women. Or, perhaps after smoking this stuff looking at pictures of naked women was the only way to get over the experience. I bought only the 2oz box and finished it only because here in Canada that was $20.00 and I can't afford to throw that much money away. In any case I beleive 2oz was a valiant effort on my part to try to give this a fair shake and in the hope I might just find something about it that made it acceptable. No such luck! Every bowl full was a task and felt like someone was washing my mouth out with soap. I know others have stated the soapy/perfumy stuff faded away but this never happened for me. I cannot recommend this to anyone other than Vladmir Putin.

Having read all of the horible reviews here and being a big fan of OTCs, I just had to see if it was really that bad. Upon opening the pouch I was met with a smell of liquor or maybe anise as others have mentioned. It really didn't smell that bad to me, just a lot different from any other blend I've sampled. Upon charing and lighting it started to take on a root beer/ creme soda like taste as some reviewers have stated. I found it really not too bad at all, but not something I would seek out again in the future. It burned dry, but like others have said try it in a pipe you don't mind ghosting. For the money I wouldn't buy it again but I'm glad I tried it.

I read about how Frank Sinatra and Hugh Hefner smoked nothing but this stuff. They were the macks from back in the day. Plus, it's in a really cool looking box. The only thing that kept me from trying it for so long was the price. It's almost twice what I pay for the pouches of my old favorites like Carter Hall, Prince Albert, Half & Half, etc . . . One day I took the plunge and bought some at my local tobacco shop. When I got home I couldn't wait to rip the cellophane off the box. Even the pouch looked cool--white with swirly black designs on it. When I opened the pouch, it smelled like diluted Simple Green. I packed one of my briars and lit it up. The smoke that came out smelled like cheap old lady perfume. I read one review that compared this stuff to sucking on a urinal cake. I've never sucked on a urinal cake, but I would imagine this is would it would taste like. I wanted to like this tobacco. I even dipped into it a few times after my first harrowing experience and got the same results. Not for me. Though I still can't bring myself to throw it out.

I visited my local tobacco shop and bought one pouch of each "OTC" tobacco they had. I wasn't expecting Mercedes quality at Chevy prices... but this tobacco deserves a review.

I can honestly say that I haven't tasted anything like this since I was a child. Let me explain. I remember learning some new vocabulary at school which didn't exactly impress my mother. One word in particular awed my friends in the schoolyard but stopped my mother dead in her tracks. When I said it at home, she inserted a cake of soap into my mouth in some arcane attempt to "wash that language out of my mouth."

So yes, young people, it's true. This really happened in the days of yore. And I accepted this odd form of punishment, because it was preferable to what would have happened had my father punished me instead.

Decades have passed since that experience. But that flavor profile was somehow stored deep in my memory, only to be reawakened by my first few puffs of Mixture 79.

And yes, I must admit that the word I uttered when tasting this god-awful excuse for pipe tobacco was the same word that put the soap in my mouth years and years ago.

Wow. This is like loading a pipe with baby powder and attempting to the smoke baby powder. Since this tobacco has been in production since "forever", I'll guess that there are some people who enjoy smoking baby powder flavored burley.

To each his own. I'd not recommend this to anyone. Mixture #79 is worth a try but be warned that your pipe may never forgive you. Wow.

Wow this stuff is horrible. I think this comes from the remains of several jars of ancient cased tobaccos left over in a dungeon somewhere far underground. The taste is just some amorphous alcohol flavoring that's sort of sweetish. It coats my tongue with yuckiness and doesn't go away for hours. Careful, this can ghost your pipe in a really bad way. Garbage.

I was given a pot of this tobacco and wondered why I thought it was OK twenty years ago. Either the blend has changed or the gift was tainted by some sort of hideous condiment...like ketchup or mustard.

Not a good smoke, in fact it lasted about 15 puffs then I could not keep smoking it. I would not buy this unless you smoke pipes for nicotine only or the zombies have taken over the world!

This was bought during a very disappointing visit to a nearby smoke shop. I figured I'd give this a try as I had never seen this before in any other shop around me. As I opened the pouch for the 1st time I was greeted by this weird chemically smell and knew bad things lurked inside. As I loaded up one of my Dr Grabow pipes, and lit it, my tongue almost instantly started tingling. The bite got worse with each puff, and 2 minutes later I dumped the pipe, gave my mouth a rest for a few minutes, and loaded up one of my better pipes with some Frog Morton which I should have done to begin with. This is by far the worse tobacco I've smoked, and now I know why I only found this in one place around me, no one in their right mind would buy this.

Nothing bland or wishy-washy about this blend. Extremely distinctive aromatic with a good nicotine kick. People either love this or hate it, so I approached it with some trepidation and went light on the purchase, opting for the pouch instead of the tin. Count me among those who love it; I think it fired off every pleasure receptor in my body. There's no in between on this one, so every pipe smoker should try it at least once and see where they stand. This is now my favorite drug-store blend and I'm glad I chanced it. Has a real "old-time" feel, which makes sense for this old-time blend.

Taste like a bottle of cheap purfume. after three lights, I had to remove it from my cob immediately. H. Sutliff must have one hell of a sense of humor because this is just awful and is'nt even worthy of one star.

Having long been an enthusiast of tobaccoreviews.com, I hesitated before making this my first review. This is in many ways a blend that is not my normal fare. A tobacconist nearby has an incredible selection of shag tobacco for RYO cigarettes (I almost exclusively stick to hand-rolled Stokkebye cancer sticks these days), but a typical OTC tobacco selection. Still, I was intrigued by H. Sutliff's Mixture No. 79 - what a pedigree! I bypassed the Captain Black and Carter Hall and made this my first drugstore baccy.

I pulled out a Karl Erik for that first bowl, but stopped to read some reviews first. After seeing how many complained of 79 'ghosting' their pipes, I lovingly put Karl away and grabbed my cob. That's smart.

The false light gave me an instant soapy flavor that so many here have testified to. I felt let down - where were the figs, the licorice, the tea-like aromas of the pouch? I soldiered on, relighting. The blend still hasn't gone out. It burns nice and cool and holds up to gentle puffing.

The soapy flavor disappeared about a quarter of the way into the bowl and those pouch aromas slowly began to emerge. A hint of fruity black tea, a bit of that anise aroma worked their way around the soapy flavor and begin to perk up the sides of my tongue. Something tangy, reminiscent of star fruit, hits me right in the middle of my tongue. And the aroma wafting from the bowl is pure enjoyment - an indefinable pipe tobacco aroma that is simply classic 'grandpa smoking his pipe.'

I was so taken with this strange, yet oddly satisfying blend that I felt moved to put aside my morning's work for a moment and fairly evaluate it. I'm sure I won't finish this pouch too quickly, and I don't know when I'll be buying it again, but I'm beginning to see the value in some of these classic blends. Much like Canadian Club is the flavor of a bygone era in whiskey drinking, so is Mixture No. 79 the flavor of a bygone era of pipe smoking. Please don't misunderstand me - I'm fully aware of the superiority of Knob Creek to Canadian Club, or of MacBaren Mixture (my benchmark aromatic) to this stuff, but sometimes you just have to have a taste of the olden days.

Granted, Mixture 79 will never be a world favorite, and will never make my Top Ten list, but it's nowhere near as bad as Reviews may make you believe. I would call it unique rather than horrible. It reminds me a lot of Whitehall, which was a blend that I smoked a bit in the 1960s and 70s. Not to be confused with Whitehall Black Tie.

A sniff test of the baggie it came in reminded me faintly of old-fashioned root beer barrel candy. The moisture is no worse than many Premium blends, and less moist than many I have smoked. The tobacco itself is a mix of light, medium, and dark Burley which is similar to Carter Hall is its cut. Mixture 79 can be packed and lit with little or no drying, and anything that might be mistaken for perfumey will burn off quickly, leaving an oddly satisfying slightly sweet flavored smoke with a hint of bitterness which is enjoyable a way I never would have imagined. Sutliff claims Mixture 79 is topped with vanilla, which some may sense as perfume, or like the root beer I noticed.

I'm smoking a bowl as I write this, and with each puff I'm liking this old-fashioned blend more. So much so that I'll definitely order a tub of Mixture 79 next month. And time will tell if somehow this could become a Top Ten blend for me. Maybe it helps that I already enjoy American Classic Blends, and that I don't have a negative opinion of Sutliff and Altadis, but judging it on its own merits, I do like it. So if you've been curious, or been tempted, I'd say its time to give Mixture 79 a fair chance.

Mixture 79 … Here is an OTC blend that I'm sure that I must have smoked a pouch or two many years ago (60's) and for whatever reason, I haven't smoked it since. But after reading so many negative reviews on this site regarding this blend, I just had to give this old timer another shot.

My sample came in a pouch/box that contained tobacco ranging in color from yellow to black. Sutliff calls their #79 a mild and aromatic tobacco, and I agree with that description. As for being an ARO it's not the typical overpowering guppy type, this one smokes cool, mild and dry. As for it's flavor, kind of like a faint root beer or sassafras/tobacco taste, a unique smoke for certain. Not for everybody, but I sure will no trouble finishing my pouch. If you just can't stomach ARO's forget this one, but if you favor them, this one is not a bad choice.

I've avoided reviewing this blend after reading so many negatives. 79 has been an occasional go to for the better part of forty years. The basic burley taste is full and quite enjoyable. The bowl aroma half way down is pure ambrosia. I mentioned the "occasional go to" . Heed my warning. This blend produces the vilest room note and the most negative feedback from smokers and nonsmokers alike. A secret pleasure but smoke with care.

What Edward Wood was to bad Hollywood movies, and what Iggy Pop was to punk rock, this tobacco is to the world of pipe tobacco! A nothing to talk about smoke with what can only be described as a "perfume" room note that is over the top. Will completely taint any pipe with its casing permanently once smoked! You've been warned...

this is the only review from my 'pen' that will be this negative-- (unless someone comes up with another Mix79 'lookalike')

i smoked this blend over 50 years ago--it made an impression--a bad one--i admit to preferring burley, and to having a penchant for OTC blends over boutique products, but this one won't do--my personal motto has been for the past 50 years has been, "i'll smoke anything except Mixture 79"--

I keep a tub of this around and smoke it occasionally. One of the first "Drugstore Blends" I smoked over 20 years ago. I must say it is definitely different! My Grandpa was a Firefighter for 36 years and smoked this out of a Falcon Pipe for years. It holds a special place in my heart for that reason. Being around for 100 years or more, it must have some fans other than me and my late Grandpa!

I used to smoke this in the early 70's. I haden't had any in about 30 yrs. until I broke down a bought some for old times sake just the other day. It still taste just as I remember. Several reviewers have called this a love it or hate it blend and I can't disagree. I however am in the middle on this one. It ain't the greatest tobacco I've ever smoked but neither is it the worst. I started smoking this because a friend of mines father smoked it. This gentleman was an MD and chief of surgery at a local hospital. I admired him and thought that any tobacco that was good enough for this educated, respected and prousperous man was good enough for me. The good doctor loved this stuff! I think he sprinkled it on his morning oatmeal. He never used a tobacco pouch but instead carried a good sized tin of ole' 79 around with him. I think he used it for chew as well and I'm not joking. Anyway, I can't give you a great description of the taste because it's something that much be experienced. I have wondered for years what the little bits that look like dried orange peel are. Maybe it's best I don't know. Drop a few bucks and try some! You'll always wonder what it taste like if you don't.

Every once in a while a blend comes along that is so absolutely terrible that it amazes me the blend made it to production. Does anyone like this stuff? Is it a mistake, or is it a joke being played upon us all by someone with too much time and money on their hands? Who is H. Sutliff, anyway? Mixture No. 79 is supposedly flavored with vanilla. I'm sure, though, that there is more. I like vanilla, and even blends with artificial vanilla in them can be tolerable. Of course, I also like licorice (yeah, I'm the one who buys those despised black jelly beans) but somehow, when anise is put into tobacco it creates a whole that is dramatically less than the sum of its parts. I wonder what Mixtures 1 through 78 were like! After trying this blend, I decided I'd better clean my test pipes (I tried to bowls to be fair). I used the Professor's Pipe Sweetening Treatment, using cotton balls rather than salt, and let the pipes sit overnight. Once dry, I could still taste Mixture #79 in the pipes. I repeated the process, and could still taste lingering elements. A third treatment seems to have pretty much salvaged these two severely abused friends. Mixture No. 79 is one blend I can't recommend to ANY smoker. I need friends, not enemies.

Some of the reviewers directly below have described #79 perfectly. This stuff smells like licorice in the pouch and tastes like soap once it is lit. The tobacco can hardly be tasted above all the artificial flavoring. The other reviewers were also correct about it ghosting a briar. It has taken several weeks to rid my pipes of the gosh awful soapy taste. If you want tobacco that doesn't taste like tobacco you will love this stuff. Otherwise you will agree with all the reviews below that deride it. I suppose everyone ought to try it once just for the novelty but use a cheap cob.

Well I am not adverse to anise flavoring so I decided to give this blend a shot. It smells nicely of licorice in the pouch, has a wonderful look, and the moisture level is just perfect. I packed a bowl hoping for the best but was terribly disappointed. Besides the anise flavors, there is a definite "floral" taste to this tobacco. Not sure what it is, just could not stand it. Turns a bit chemically about halfway thru the bowl, again something I just did not like. Burns well, has a good nicotine kick but the taste is just something I did not like at all. Not something you can blend with other tobacco's to make smokeable IMHO. The flower and chemical tastes make this blend just terrible.

I decided to try this again after aging it a while in my tobacco cellar. Huge mistake, this is most horrible tobacco, revolting is probably not a harsh enough adjective for Mixture #79. I tried mixing it with some other strong tobaccos but it always comes to the fore when smoking. The chemical/floral taste is just a huge turn off, reminds quite a bit of the emetic "syrup of ipecac". I would not be surprised to find out they use it as casing.

I mean no disprespect to those who enjoyed this blend in the 50s and 60s. In fact, that's why I purchased it: because it has stood the test of time. Of course, so has caster oil, and we all know how great that tastes.

Mixture No. 79 has a menthol-like smell and flavor. There's a strong licorice flavor as well, and these two tastes just seem to be fighting for dominance throughout the smoke. My girlfriend helpfully suggested "maybe it's meant to be smoked if you have a cold?"

Definitely not to my liking although, clearly, some people genuinely do.

A friend of mine in the UK recently recieved a package of this from his local tobacconist, and asked me what my honest opinion of this blend was since he had never before tried it. The following is an excerpt from my reply to his message and I feel that it is complete in all regards to Mixture #79 as a tobacco blend as a whole.

"We here in the USA would be more than happy to send you our complete supply of that tobacco! The reason we keep putting it down is due to the fact that the topping of "Embalming Fluid" with just a dash of "Cremains" makes our eyes water and our noses swell with disgust. I hope that will clarify the situation a slight bit."

If you plan on trying this blend out, you need another plan quickly. NOT recommended!

This blend should be noted as having an aquired taste, not just a half of a pipe full. I smoked it back in the 50's and 60's and enjoyed very much. I'm glad to see that it is still available, although any pipe tobacco is hard to find in the Los Angeles area unless you want it for a hookaa (which will deaden the taste of even the vilest leaf) I sometimes blended it into some cube cut burley to lessen the aromatic's.

I must say this is quite a nice blend. This is one of the best OTC blends I have smoked over the course of time. The coarse cut make it easy to fill up the pipe and light up. Almost a licorice type of taste to this blend. This has a really nice room note to it and has a good amount of nicotine to it. The price is right as well. I would definitely recommend this blend for the new pipe smoker or if you want a change of pace from your normal blend.

In the 60s during my university days Mixture 79 was at the absolute top of the line of drug store brands and a prominent feature at tobac emporiums. You could always maintain your "cool" and not be afraid to flash the aluminium lined 79 pouch at a frat party or night spot and risk appearing declasse. In fact, it was the "It Blend" at my Big 10 Conference school.

So I was rather shocked, very shocked to read many fellow reviewers dissing what was then one of the premium popular mass offerings. Perplexed me so much I immediately ordered a 14 oz. tub of old 79 to check on the veracity of these accounts. Got a good priced mail order deal from Black Cat Cigar Co, East Norriton, PA 19401 for $24.95 - a great deal for New Yorkers who now have to pay over six bucks for 1.5 Oz. of Mixture 79 at the tabacconist - if you can find it.

My old sweet and mild aromatic blend was as solid as ever and I'm glad I ordered it. H. Sutlife still sings! I give it an unqualified ** star rating: sweet bouquet as I opened the tub, healthy brown and golden broken flake appearance, a succulent, gentle, mild and overall pleasant smoke all the way. Going to take a few ounces of this and mix 3-to-1 with Paladin, Middleton Cherry or Admiral's Choice Cherry Cavendish because Mixture 79 Cherry (another old pleaser) is either out of production or nearly impossible to find.

Many of my reviewer colleagues trashing 79 - well, I think they were really just piling on. This is and always was a thrill of a pipe smoke and I can certainly understand why Mr. Cool Sophistication himself, Hugh Hefner, smoked it arduously until 1985 when he had a mild stroke and the Doc ordered him to quit smoking everything. Happy Hunting!

My father used to smoke this blend and I started in college. I have always liked the taste and am surprised at so many negative comments. It may be that it is an acquired taste but I've rarely run into anyone who didn't like it.

This is one of those weird blends. Some people like it right away while others want to vomit at the thought of taking another puff.

Strangely this blend sort of grows on me little by little. I don't like throwing things away that someone else might like. After the first bowl instead of heading for the trash can I tossed it in a drawer. A couple of weeks later I tried it again. I found it not quite so sickening but still not good. A couple of weeks later and I get the urge to try it again.....

Right now it's back in the drawer but I've got a feeling I'll be digging it out again soon.

I first tried this blend back in the late 70's, influenced by the fact that Hugh Hefner smoked this blend. Remember Sen Sen mints, the little anise flavored candy about the size of a small piece of confetti? Well this tastes like those to me and I happen to like them. On the other hand, I know people who gag on them. I smoked this for a while in the 70's and moved on to other blends. I was in a tobacco shop this morning saw old 79, and decided to give it a whirl in a cob. I liked it, nostalgic yes, but it wasn't as bad as some reviews I've read today. I think most people are going to love it or hate it, depending on your tastes. It is an "Old Fashioned" aromatic, flavored with old fashioned things, like anise, molasses, vanilla, and bourbon, that hit the senses strongly, because they don't back down on the flavors. Not much in the sense of strong tobacco flavors here, so don't expect an English or Virginia. I recommend a looser pack, or else it might bite. I give it a 2 and a half, neutral, because Mixture 79 will either be ambrosia or bad tasting medicine.

BTW, unless you plan to smoke this on a very regular basis, only use a cob, your briar will taste like 79 for years to come!

I made the decision to try this tobacco because my father smoked this when I was a young lad. At the time it gave me a pleasent memory of pipe smoke. When I started smoking, I thought that in his honor I'd give this a try. Well, it proved that Dad wasn't always right about everything. This stuff is just plain awful. Sorry Dad!

I feel like i have to stick up for this one. This smoke has it's own unique character which you either love or hate. I would recomend anyone who is not brand new to the pipe to try it. Definately reserve a pipe for this, as it does have a tendency to mark it's territory.

The first impression it leaves is its anissette flavor, however there is a bit of something else there, perhaps something like figs or raisins.

The taste reminds me of spice drops, sweet and peppery; a taste only for the bold. This is what would probably drive most people away

Finally, it has a stronger, yet enjoyable room note.

This is definitely not a regular smoke, however once in a while you want something bold and different and this will by sure to satisfy.

I received a complementary 1.5oz pouch with a recent online order and was quite excited to give it a try. Being relatively new to pipe smoking I made one of two mistakes that can be made in trying out an unknown tobacco: I loaded a pipe without first checking the reviews on this site. Luckily I didn't make the second mistake of loading it into an expensive pipe. By chance I decided to load it into one of my corn cob pipes for the first go around.

As I opened the pouch and drew in my first whiff my anticipation grew even more. I love the smell of anise and had hopes of a licorice flavored smoke. I loaded my corn cob and fired it up.......Whoa! WTF? My anticipation quickly crumbled in a mouthful of pure flowery perfume flavor. I tried to work my way down the bowl thinking things might improve, but I was wrong. Half way into the bowl I couldn't take anymore and dumped it out. I'm not sure yet, but I think I may have ruined my $5.00 corn cob.

Be very wary of paying money to try this blend. If you believe your taste may be suitable to such a blend, find someone to bum a bowl off of first if you can. If you lack access to such an individual then buy the absolutely smallest amount you can find.

The pouch aroma was heavy on the licorice/anise, which I found really nice - I love licorice! This flavor transfered to the smoke; however, it was laced with an extreme soapy taste and the aroma of what seemed to me to be bad men's cologne rather than women's perfume. I don't always trust the nose when I'm smoking, but that's my perception.

Mouth-filling smoke that I found extremely foul. I tried two bowls of this, both in meerschaums because I didn't want to ghost a briar. I will not be trying this again.

Wow, this stuff is fun to smoke, and very well behaved for an aromatic. I don't know about you guys, but I like women's perfume; no wonder Hef smoked this alot, being surounded by all those pretty girls. That fact alone is almost enough to make me want to smoke this. I have smoked my share of blends that have hit the toilet bowl for one reason or another but this is not one. It has a nice vanilla flavor, and stays lit reasonably well for an aromatic, which are always a bit syrupy in the bowl. Smoking this out of a black, sandblasted Vauen. I have some Dunhill 965 stored along with some Squadron Leader, so I won't be converting full time to this, but I like this blend for some reason and would always pick some up to keep around. Although I have to say, it won't be gracing my Dunhill Amber root any time soon.

This was bad...I tried it months ago and revisited to make sure that it wasn't a fluke. It's bad stuff. The pipe I smoked it in still stinks of it. Too bad that something this dreadful is still around. To his own pallete be true...

What happened to the first 78 mixtures? Oh that's right-they were all bought up by Saddam Hussein for use in his chemical weapons program. If he had had some of this for his last smoke before his execution, he might have cheated the hangman.

That said, I must report this is the most foul-tasting stuff I have ever put in a pipe.

I was fooled by the pouch scent which had a nice strong, floral and peppery nose. No hint of the horrors to come.

Once lit, I could not finish half a bowl. The taste so insulted my tastebuds that I dumped it and the rest of the sample into the toilet. I don't think I've ever disliked a baccy so quickly and that much.

It is said that Mixture #79 was Hugh Hefner's favorite when he still smoked a pipe. Don't worry, Hef... I still admire you.

The tobacco itself seems to be of a very high quality. Lights easy, stays lit very well. When I first opened the 1.5 oz pouch I really liked the smell. To me a bit like black licorice with a hint of chocolate. But when lit its smell is completely different; a strong weird smell of women's perfume. I'm nearly certain that it contains dried rose hips. In addition, it tastes like roses too. It's not horrible, but let's say you'd really have to be in the mood to smoke something like this. This is probably not something most people would want to smoke every day.

In the interests of expirementation (and the fact that a pouch of this medusa landed in my corner) I am going to try and neutralize the casing with either bourbon our whiskey. I'm running short on tobacco before my next order arrives. The pouch I receive actually had a manufacture flaw on the pouch and it was partly opened. so the perfume stench is minimal for now. (and the tobacco fortunately did not dry out).

To which end, I am going to try and introduce a whiskey/rum/bourbon to it to see if it neutralize the perfume. Will report on this in a week or two. Maybe longer. the tobacco itself looks ok actually so I feel a be guilty to waste it. that might change on the smoking but, it's worth a try anyways.

I must admit it... When I first tried this blend it reminded me of Field & Stream only stronger on the floral notes. I didn't care for it. So I put it away and 2 weeks later I gave it another try. Not as bad, I thought. I tried it a third time 3 months later and... I loved it! I am a Lakeland smoker (The mighty Condor being my favorite) and this fits nicely into that category. If you don't like the Lakeland style, don't bother. If you do, give it a try.

I agree with pretty much all the 3 & 4 star reviews below (what few there are!). This blend is clearly love it or hate it, but I do not think it is fair to say it is a badly made product.

If you are deciding whether to purchase this blend may I offer this advice:

1. Buy a SMALL 1.5 oz. pouch, NOT a tub. Then you won't regret it if you realize you don't like it.

2. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, devote a pipe you do not care about when trying this - it will leave a ghost in your pipe like nothing else out there, even after only one bowl IMHO. I smoked this in a Dr. Grabow I devote to soapy/perfumey Lakelands.

3. Ask yourself the following: Do I like anise-flavored things?

Not sure? Go buy some black licorice, black jelly beans and, if you are really wanting to test your love of anise, some strong European licorice candies like Salmiakki, Katjes, or Panda licorice. If you like the taste, proceed to hunt down a pouch of Mixture No. 79.

4. Ask yourself the following: Do I like perfumed/scented Lakeland tobaccos?

Mix. 79 is an American version of this niche of pipe tobacco. If you have never tried such tobaccos, Mix. 79 may be a cheaper way to decide whether you should plop down the dough for an expensive (in the US, at least) tin of Ennerdale Flake or Grousemoor.

This tobacco represents a style that is from another time...and, of course, tastes change in the course of 80+ years. But it is worth a try.

Hoo boy, after reading the comments below, I feel like I'm sticking my neck out saying how much I like this blend so I'm giving it 2 stars as somewhat recomended. However, my personal taste buds give it 4 stars.

First off the pouch aroma is seductive and I've never smelled anything that smelt so good. Sweet and liquorishy is all I can really say.

It loads like a crimp cut. Easy to light and stays lit throughout the bowl.

I do like strong tobacco and that is what I get at light up. I get very little flavor at first. But, the tobacco and nicotene taste is there and I like it. About 3/4 bowl, pleasant hints of liquorice and sweetness come through the full bodied smoke. I don't sense any soapy or perfumy flavors others mentioned. After I finish a bowl, I am left very satisfied.

Will this become a daily smoke? Probably not as Balkans are my go to blends. I will however keep a pouch of this around when I need something different like I do with Prince Albert. Mixture 79 seems great for innatentive smoking like when putzing with yardwork or something. It's hard to puff this stuff wrong. I've been smoking it in a cob but will dedicate a Dr Grab to it because it's liable to ghost a bowl of something else.

The tub aroma is of licorice, vanilla, and floral/herbal scents. The tobacco is a heavily sugared and flavored cavendished, coarsely plug-cut burley which should be broken so as to ensure easy burning and proper airflow.

This blend is pure burley of good quality, a mixture of light and brown, which has been significantly sweetened and highly flavored. The flavoring is straightforwardly stimulating and refreshingly aromatic. The smoke is mild, creamy, and sweet with a clean finish which leaves the palate refreshed for another bowl.

A high water mark for old-style american aromatics, Mixture No.79 is a constant delight which is never tiring or cloying. It quickly ghosts a briar. This went well in a chamber of any gauge.

Over the years, I like to smoke this occationally though it's too aromatic to smoke all the time. I don't think it deserves the bad rap it gets, it has is place and when in the mood for it, I like it. When I do, it gets positive comments on the room note. It is sweet, purfume tasting and is like eating an orange liquirice candy. But it has it's followers and has been around a long time. I does own the pipe after smoking so suggest it in a cob.

I don't know why lovers of lakelands don't stand up for this blend more - sure, I'd rather have a good rich slice of G&H in my pipe, but you know what? This stuff isn't half bad in the perfume-blend department. There's some halfway decent burley in there, too.

Shied away from this for a looooooong time because of how badly people talked about it, but finally I realized that what was said - tastes like soap, smells like granny's perfume - are exactly what I ENJOY about blends like Ennerdale, Condor, &etc.

Figured, what the heck. If I can find an OTC that approximates the lakeland enigma of enigmas, I'm in for the pocket change.

My Lord, M79. What a name. The other 78 must have been fatal when ingested. This concotion brings back the earliest of memories. Being of italian desent, we were givin instruction in smoking soon after we left the breast. On my grandfathers lap I would sit as he puffed up a typhoon with this blend. As I held my nose, I could still taste the horid remnants, like my grandmothers flower garden had been torched, of this tobacco, swearing on a stack of bibles never to smoke. Then low and behold there was the old classic Amphora red full aromatic. My God, I thought, this is what I will smoke when old enough. And so I did. My newly found hobbie of the briar, caused me to make many terrible decisions in the field. First and foremost was buying a foil of M79. The experiance still haunts me to this day. 79 cents of lunch money wasted, and a mouthfull of Tide without bleach. Even after 35 years of piping, and many many foul, rancid, overated tobaccos, M79 is still on the note to self, NEVER,EVER, attempt to ignite this toxic dung. All that I can imagine is that Mary W Shelly hoarfed a bowl or 2 of this fodder before composing Frankenstein. (no wonder the creature had a rotten brain)

Okay, we all know things change over time. In tobacco the quality and quantities of various components of a blend vary from time to time. the manufacturers try to cover this with their use of casings and flavourings. Then tobacco changes once it has been blended , while in storage. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. The Mixture 79 I have came in a can with a ZIP Code and no UPC.(Zippy came along in the 1960's and UPC in the mid-seventies) So it is at least 30 years old. It came in a purchase of a lot and was not the reason for the purchase, but there it was.

On opening the tin there was no discernible smell other than the tobacco. None of the overpowering casing that other reviewers have castigated the fresh product for.

After a light steaming to bring the moisture level up to tolerable levels, despite being sealed it was a trifle on the dry side, and into a cob. (Having read other reviews I feared putting into something more precious to me.) Now I can't tell you whether this is due to changes in the formulation, or the result of aging, but this tin of Mixture 79 is quite acceptable, if somewhat bland. Very rough cut, burns well, easy to light.

I am not a burley devotee, but I do smoke it as a change of pace, so some of this will probably be blended in to soften mixtures I find a little harsh, but it was a welcome bonus on my purchase. Maybe on my next trip to the US I will pick up the new product just to see how it compares.

So if you like plain old American burley and you can find an old tin of Mixture 79 I suggest you try it. If you have a new tin and don't care for it, I suggest you give it a chance to mature, and just possibly you will find a pleasant surprise years down the road.

Its not the big floral note or aroma that I found objectionable in this infamous mixture,it smokes too hot and its the bite and the long lasting after taste that gets me,plus its $5.49 for a 1.5 oz. pouch locally,thats way too much for a tobacco like this.

After successfully enjoying No. 79 indoors, I was going to give it rave reviews but since then, my wife has admonished me to stop this practice. Okay, if you?re buying into the current premium tobacco craze without closer scrutiny, not unlike the cigar boom of the 90s, you probably hate Mixture No. 79. Don?t get me wrong, I?m all for handcrafted tobacco blends and quality ingredients but there are budgetary concerns to my pastime. I first tried Mixture No. 79 about 15 years ago, when I needed something to smoke in my truck while sitting in traffic on the freeway. From that experience, I remember a pleasant mass market smoke that was a heck of a lot better than the stale drugstore brands at the local supermarket and the frankly unpalatable plain wrap brand at the local drugstore. I am now on my second pouch of No. 79 within the past year and don?t really mind the soapy aroma. Short puffs produce a mild smoke that lifts your spirits without the feeling that you?re about to overdose on nicotine, like some brands. Tongue bite remains at a minimum in a somewhat clean pipe. I can see how some people have adverse reactions to the wintergreen athletic gel-like odor of the No. 79 pouch. At $3.19 per 1.5 oz., and I don?t remember if this included New York State?s horrendous tobacco tax, it?s still a relative bargain. However, I wish there was an ingredients list because I try to avoid the artificial stuff. Nevertheless, next time I reach for the decorated white pouch inside the script-covered white cardboard box, I will think of supporters and opponents of Mixture No. 79 alike.

39 years ago I could go to the local drugstore and find any of nearly 40 so called "drug store" blends sitting on a big shelf. I smoked my way through most of them (starting with a now defunct blend called "Burgundy") and have only a dim misty memory of Mixture 79, other than several pipe smokers (mostly older men) had recommended it. I remember liking the initial somewhat floral fragrance in a weird kind of way, a little like the Field and Stream of it's day. I moved on to other stuff.

Fast forward to now. I decided I had to try this to see what all the big fuss way about so I ordered some from JR. It evokes such a huge emotional reaction that I couldn't wait to light up. Well I'm still wondering what all the fuss is about but I've found a new blend for my rotation. Yeah, no kidding. Color me suprised.

In the tub it's pretty moist so the first order of business was to leave the lid off for several hours and let it air out. I've smoked a number of other brands that give that initial whiff of flowers/perfume/whatever, including Field and Stream and Tinderbox Blend #2. If smoked dry it's less intense and within a few minutes settles down to a relatively smooth, low key woodsy burley flavor. I get about an hour our of a midlin' sized bowl. It doesn't bite, stays cool, smokes slowly down to dry ash. It pretty much reminds of me of the older anise flavored drugstore blends once popular. I love this for when I am doing something else, like reading, typing or driving. I recommend that anyone interested in this stuff find a pouch, smoke it on the dry side, try a few bowls and forget all the hysteria. It has a fairly nice room note too!

Similarly to DakotaPeacePipe, I tried this because a colleague swore by it. I really did not notice any aroma when he smoked it. It was another story when the pouch I bought was opened. Upon lighting up,it was like stepping into old Aunt Gertie's house. The perfumey smell that must have been used to cover something else. A Saturday night only bath tradition more than likely. Anyway, about mid-bowl the fragrance seemed to dissapate. If like my colleague, you like this blend, have at it.

Had not smoked this in several decades when I received a pouch in the Altadis sampler. I have memories of this as 37 years ago when I started my career one of my first bosses (dear Orville, may he Rest In Peace) smoked this to exclusion. I had already taken to the pipe and Orville urged me to try his favorite, but after almost four decades virtually all memory of the taste had faded. Based on the near derision in which most of the reviewers herein hold this blend I was prepared to be revolted. I must confess I at least tolerated it 37 years ago and was most surprised to find that today I actually like it! In my experience the character of this tobacco changes throughout the bowl but always staying pleasant and flavorful: at first light there is indeed a flowery explosion of flavor, but as the experience lengthens the underlying burleys seem to predominate (perhaps this smokers taste buds simply go into overload?) for me it is also without bite or in the least bit harsh. Believe I will buy a tub and put it in my rotation. PS: To those who regard this blend as requriing a "hazardous material" rating, my pipe smoking mentor, Orville puffed on this incessantly to age 96 to no apparent ill effect.

i smoke pipe tobacco for two reasons only....first, for the effects produced by nicotine....second, for the taste...this is a mysterious and polarizing blend...you either love it or hate it....mark me down for loving it...i found a couple of dusty pouches at the liquor store round the block...upon lighting the first bowl i thought that i had anything other than tobacco in my pipe...the smell and flavor are rather shocking at first...some have likened it to granny's perfume or smoked flowers....i let it go out and then relit about five minutes later...from my childhood came memories of saturday mornings at the barber shop and the fragrant scent of the "pinaud" talcum powder...little dapper gentleman on the can with cane and twisty moustache...i stuck with it and the payoff was a full earthy, nutty. and totally toasty delight....i couldn't believe how much i liked it....i am acquianted with nightcap,penzance,and yes even the lionized balkan sobranie...i scapped-up the remaining pouches around the corner and bought a 14 oz tub....the weed in the tub needs much drying to keep up with what's in those pouches...maybe not the most popular idea, but i highly recommend this stuff...try it again and don't leave before the miracle happens!

I tried this blend years ago and hated it. Now, I must say, I find this quite enjoyable from time to time. Very old fashioned and simple, it definitely has a very interesting flavor! I am going to kep a tub of this around from now on. I know there are quite a few pipers out there who hate this blend ( I know I used to! )...my apologies to them, but this is a great occasional treat for the Aromatic Tobacco smoker!

I have reviewed this in other listings on this website. It is a strong, floral, and cool, almost minty aromatic. It is not awful, it just isn't my cup of tea. It burns cool and dry so long as you sip it. It will flavor the pipe, so don't try it in one of your treasured briars! The square cut makes it a cinch to pack. Try it in a cob. After about a third of the way through, the casing burns off, and the burley comes through.

Henry Sutliffe apparently concocted this blend in 1925, in his shop in San Francisco. It has been a big seller ever since. It is one of the few otc blends available where I live, so somebody is smoking this stuff! If you need celebrity endorsement, Hugh Hefner, and Frank Sinatra enjoyed this blend. Who knows? You might like it...

I agree with the esteemed Pipestud that old is not always better, but I also agree with SopwithCamel that Mixture 79 is not that awful. It is definitely unique in its odd medicinal, almost chemical taste. Then again, I believe that?s the nature of the cavendished Kentucky burley. It has a smoky, slightly sweet and bitter, and yes, floral quality. I had previously experienced that particular flavor/scent in Larsen?s Kentucky Flowers, but it was not as pungent and assertive as in Mixture 79.

A dear friend of mine, and unrepentant NYC dweller, was kind enough to recently send me two pouches of Mixture 79 (thanks Ali!). I must say in his behalf that he is an excellent writer, literary critic and chess player, but he is not exactly well versed in pipe tobacco. Nicely chopped (rather than cut), and austere in presentation, Mixture 79 is obviously a machine processed tobacco, along the same lines of Prince Albert, Carter Hall, etc.

In the pouch the moisture level tends to be high and the aroma is very strong. As a safety measure I left the pouch open for a whole night and most of the next day before loading the tobacco in my pipe. It did help a little bit. Still, it took me sometime before I actually got it going. The casing (topping?) was overtly present the first few puffs. It is hard to describe its very peculiar flavor. I would say it is reminiscent of a smoky-maple and flowers-soap (indeed, if anyone complains about the British blends being soapy, have them try this one!). To a certain extent, I would also say this is the American equivalent of Gawith?s Grousemoor.

Mild in strength, it is highly advisable to smoke Mixture 79 very slowly, keeping the pipe stem from your lips, so as to avoid tongue bite. Eventually, as SopwithCamel suggests, the flavor tends to settle down, yielding a rather nice Burley nuttiness. Oddly enough the room aroma seems to be rather pleasant for non-smokers. And yes, you shouldn?t smoke this in your favorite briars, unless you are a die-hard fan of Mixture 79. Would not recommend this as a beginners tobacco.

I thought I had reviewed this foul weed before. So, I checked the Search by Brand and sure enough, I had. Oh well, here it is again.

I have been told by old timers that this crimp cut burley mixture was often used (in small doses) to "pep-up" cheap Virginias. Well, all I can say is that I'd sure hate to load up a bowl of any kind of tobacco that needed Mixture #79 to save it.

Yes, this blend has been around for eons, but old is not always better. My suggestion is that you pass this one by unless your schnoze is no longer capable of detecting odors and your tongue is protected by an asbestos sheath.

I enjoyed reading A Morley's review of this blend, and I personally feel he has the right perspective.

This stuff is good quality burley, topped with anise, and maybe some oil of wintergreen (which is what modern root beer uses instead of sassafrass). This might account for the cool feeling in my mouth when smoked.

The first time I tried this, I didn't know what to think. It is very strongly flavored, but not wet or goopy. It packs very easily, and when fresh doesn't burn too hot or bite. After a minute or so, the tobacco flavor comes through, something that rarely happens when I smoke a modern aromatic. The burley used is good quality, and doesn't make my mouth taste like an ashtray.

It is floral, soapy and herbal. This isn't an accident. There have been many blends over the years that fit this profile: Bond Street, Bowl of Roses, many English scented flakes, etc. None of these blends are bad, perhaps not to one's taste, but that is another matter.

A very interesting(!), old fashioned blend. Try it if you feel adventurous in a clay or cob. You might be surprised. This stuff would have vanished long ago if no one liked it.

Ah, Mixture No. 79. From the reviews here, you might wonder how a blend this (apparently) nasty has managed to be around as long as it has. I count only three positive reviews of this fine old tobacco here, and none of them is a rave.

Well, here's the first rave. I don't just like Mixture No. 79, I love it. It is one of the staple tobaccos in my life, and it has never disappointed me. To this pipe man, a bowlful of Mixture No. 79 is a slice of heaven, a pleasure that offers many rewards.

This is an uncommonly well-behaved tobacco. Usually a charring light isn't necessary; one careful stir of the flame and you can smoke for a good ten minutes before needing to strike another match. Many of my fellow reviewers complain about tongue bite, and this blend does have an unusual tendency to bite ferociously if not smoked carefully. I try to smoke as slowly as possible, and usually end up with just a mild tingle on the tip of my tongue.

As the venerable A. Morley Jaques noted above, this is a "complex and masterly" mixture. It does have a certain soapiness, it does have some floral and perfume scents, but it also has a hint of vanilla and a persistent, creamy sweetness that I can only describe as sublime.

Another notable aspect of this tobacco is its remarkable consistency. Far too many tobaccos get sour at the final stages of a smoke, with many that end up all but unsmokable in the final third or fourth of the bowl. Mixture No. 79, however, gets better and better through the course of a bowl, and your last puff will be as flavorful and rewarding as your first (and I always enjoy the scent of this blend's first light). This is truly an aristocratic and refined mixture.

This is decidedly not for everyone, but if you want to try something different, something unique, something with a little history behind it, you can do a lot worse than 79. This was the blend of choice for Frank Sinatra's pipe, and Hugh Hefner smoked it exclusively from about 1959 until 1985, when he had a stroke and swore off the briar forever. The Playboy Mansions in both Chicago and Los Angeles always featured packets of Mixture No. 79 stacked on shelves in every room so that Hef could fill his pipe no matter where he was. He smoked 10-15 bowls of this per day. Not a bad lineage, I'd say.

Mixture No. 79's room note is delicious and and I love the smell it leaves in my moustache. All in all, I find this a magnificent blend, and not at all deserving of the near-unanimous derision it receives here. It's not to everybody's taste, but what blend is? I, for one, despise latakia, which many of my fellow pipe smokers adore. To each his or her own. I'll stick with 79.

WARNING: Mixture No. 79 does have one unfortunate habit: it will make any pipe in which it is smoked taste like 79 forever. That is a bad thing for anyone who doesn't smoke this tobacco exclusively. Try it in a cob to protect your good pipes if you end up not liking it; it smokes beautifully in a Missouri Meerschaum of any size.

First smoked this back in 1950 as an underaged 15 year old. My buddy and I would sneak up into the woods and light up. We thought it was the greatest tobacco in the world. All that perfumy smell. Wow!!! Later on, I switched to cigarettes and would occasionally smoke a pipe. My standby was Half and Half when it was manufactured by American Tobacco Co. Once in a while I would buy some Mixture 79 for nostalgic purposes. Still do, but can only smoke a few pipefulls before I'm overwelmed by all that aromatic casing. I'm 70 now and back on pipes full time. Still looking for that blend that's going to satisfy me like the "old" Half and Half did---sigh!

This is for sure a classic. Even thought a lot of people hate this one, I somewhat enjoy it. True it does smell a bit like aftershave and does bite if not careful, yet it has some kind of mystic to it. This is in no way one of my favorites but for sure one that I will keep coming back to.

In years past, I would try this in the ubiquitous box/foil pouch, and it would invariably be a dry, fetid horror which I soon threw away.

Trying it again, though, after many years, I've only found it in the 14 ounce tub.

Fresh in the tub I was suprised how moist (not P and G moist) the tobacco was, and I readily could identify two cuts of burley and also about 20 percent bright leaf which I assume is VA.

Yes the topping is overpowering anise/aftershave, but after a few days it seems to tone down a bit, and in smoking this very fresh sample, it melds to some degree with the underlying tobacco (which is, imho, of some reasonable quality).

So this isn't that bad, to my taste. However, I also like Kendal Flake, which uses similar overpowering aromatic elements (but added to high quality VA).

Made now by Altadis and formerly by Consolidated, when it was available in bulk, my main complaint besides lack of strength is, of course, the tendancy to bite, because it is mild and topped, but only if too much is asked of it (as a previous reviewer noted). I actually like the room note, though I'm only on my 10th bowl so far. I like to smoke it in the car, for added aromatic effect.

Smell like someone having a bad body odor problem when raw.....and does more or less same when burn. If smoke medium fast it bites. If smoke in juice slow, it does have an interesting flavor. I think it is trying to mimick something vintage and expensive without getting the right tobacco source.

March 2004. Mixture No 79. The most disgusting tobacco I have 'ever tasted or smelt' I could only manage to smoke eight to ten puffs of this foul weed,and that was three days ago. Three days later,after smoking Penzance which has a real strong latakia taste to it,and eating Italian food with lots of garlic.My taste buds still have a taste similar to floral scented soap! The rest of this horror weed,is now fertiliser in my garden. Be wise,and take the hint(Don't waste your money)

This is one of my Dad's favorite blends. I guess it's a Virginia,(as in the state) thing I don't know. I have tried this tobacco many times just trying to like it but have got nothing from it except tounge bite and a- (can I say funky here?) thankyou..a funky taste that is not tobacco-y. I never have seen what he sees in it,but just like wine, drink what you like, and to heck with what everybody thinks about it,as long as you like it. Wanna know what I think about this tobacco? It's floor sweepings from the PM cigarette factory dusted with gold bond foot powder.:)

9-3-03. I?m afraid that I made the mistake of buying this blend before reading the reviews here. I knew this tobacco had a long history and I was curious to try it, as I like to try almost any blend on the market for the experience. I don?t have the most sophisticated palate, I?ve certainly smoked my share of poor cigars and pipe blends but I can usually find some redeeming aspect of it. I certainly think I?m pretty fair and generous in my reviews. I usually always even finish said cigar or pipe bowl?but this?I couldn?t even finish the bowl. This has to be the vilest concoction that I have ever smoked. I knew I was in trouble the second I caught a whiff from the pouch. It smells like perfume soap. I too thought that there was something wrong with my pouch before I realized that this is just the way this brand smells. Unfortunately, the taste is the same as the pouch aroma but even stronger. I emptied my pipe after about half a bowl because I just couldn?t take it any longer and thought I would retch. I pray that I didn?t cause irreparable damage to my poor pipe. If you actually like this blend then send me an email with your name and address and I will gladly send this brand new pouch to the first person to do so FREE OF CHARGE with my compliments! At least I?ll know that my money wasn?t totally flushed down the toilet because if I keep this stuff that is what I will do to it.

10-8-03. Well, it's been a month and it didn?t surprise me that no one took me up on the offer for a free pouch of tobacco since this stuff is such crap. Being such, I gave it a ceremonial burial at sea down the toilet. Live and learn.

Reading the other guys comments on this mixture gave me such a laugh I just had to get in on the fun. I remember trying this foul mixture back around 1980. To me it smelled and tasted like deodorant soap and bit the hell out of my tounge on the first few draws. I didnt have much knowledge of various pipe blends back then and I remember taking that tobbaco back to the drug store and telling the clerk that there must be something wrong with it , it smelled and tasted like soap. If you enjoy this blend all I can say is that your more of a man than I am.

I open it today again because i keep it away for a long time,i feel that,the smell has a little bit "wild",the almond favour and a bit bitter. The taste is monotonous,but it have it own characteristic. By the way,it is easy to storage. Even it was dry,just add some moist. Then it will have a strong almond smell come to my nose again. The taste a totally oppsite with Captain Black. Captain Black,it just sweet and have no soul,and that one is opposite. But actually not,if i taste it carefully,i feel it also has a bit of sweet.over all,it gave me a lonely feeling.a strong surface with a soft heart.but i have to be careful. Because it would easily become hot if smoke too fast~!!

In the interest of maintaining some form of balance in this fine compendium, I feel it necessary to say I like this blend, which is true.

It is not one of my favorites. It is not very noteworthy. It WILL bite the inexperienced who expect more than it offers. And it CAN be unpleasant to those who don't like burley or anise. The key word here is MILD. 965 this is not. If you want that much flavor, stick with English-style blends with Latakia, or you WILL fry your tongue looking for big taste. It's not here. This is an extremely light, nondescript tobacco with a hint of liquorice. That's it. And I'll say it again. I like it.

I have been told by old timers that this crimp cut burley mixture was often used (in small doses) to "pep-up" cheap Virginias. Well, all I can say is that I'd sure hate to load up a bowl of any kind of tobacco that needed Mixture #79 to save it!

Yes, this blend has been around for eons, but old is not always better. I can see where some may enjoy the Anise flavoring though, so I will offer a hesitant "Somewhat Recommended" rating.